Charles Werner

Temperature monitoring in the Duékoué department in Ivory Coast

This season, the Duékoué department in Ivory Coast has been characterized by a warm anomaly, which has not significantly influenced the cocoa production timing and survival. The warm anomaly has been mostly attributed to the maximum daytime temperatures, while the nighttime minimum temperatures have stayed, for the most part, in line with the average until […]

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Hydric stress monitoring in the Edo state, southwestern Nigeria

On average, Edo State (southwestern Nigeria) accumulates enough rain surplus over the season to protect cocoa trees from hydric stress until early January. This season seemed to follow the same rule until the first dekad of October. Even though the cumulative rainfall in this region was, throughout 2022, below average, the soil reservoirs were full

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Precipitation monitoring in the Dja-et-Lobo department in southern Cameroon

The Dja-et-Lobo department, like all southern Cameroon, started 2022 in a worrisome fashion, with precipitations staying below average until mid-May, following the same pattern as for the previous season. Consequently, the trees underwent a stressful period that impinged the past crop. The situation improved in August and, despite remaining below average, the precipitations were enough

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ITF position

After lagging behind its normal position throughout September and the beginning of October, the Intertropical Front (ITF) has accelerated its southwards progression. It is now more southern, getting closer to the cocoa regions, than is usual at this time of the year. Of course, its daytime average position is still well north of the cocoa

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Temperature monitoring in the Vavoua department of Ivory Coast

The department of Vavoua in Ivory Coast has recorded cooler then average temperatures for the past 30 days. In this important cocoa department, the cooling started with the small dry season and, until recently, was due to mild daytime temperatures coupled with slightly cooler nights, leading to a small overall deviation from the average. The

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Temperature monitoring over the Sekyere Kumawu district in Ghana

The Sekyere Kumawu district of Ghana experienced warmer than usual temperatures in July, including during a large part of this year’s little dry season. The low rainfall in much of July required plants to draw on soil water resources, and the higher daytime temperatures led to greater consumption of water reserves due to higher tree

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Precipitation monitoring over the Akim Oda district in Ghana

The Akim Oda district of Ghana has had an ideal evolution of precipitation this season. Rains resumed early, with significant quantities already pouring in the first week of March. This accelerated the plants’ recovery from the main dry season. Then, for most of the main wet season, it rained more than average and the trees

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Black Pod outlook in the Littoral region of Cameroon

The Littoral region in Cameroon is exceptionally wet, and it is often monitored for its predisposition to the Black Pod disease. The conditions over the past three months have been particularly favourable for the spread of the disease. With a number of dry days below average during this period, the pods were almost constantly wet and susceptible to

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Temperature monitoring in the Lagunes District, Ivory Coast

Temperatures in the Lagunes district of Ivory Coast have not deviated that much from the norm over the past three months. For the most part, temperatures since June have been above average. However, September has seen the average temperature drop to the lower end of the average range, and below. This cooling over the last

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